2/ Emotions are all a part of being human, they are inbuilt in every one of us and are stimulated in certain situations and experiences, whether we let them show themselves (or not)! Sadly, a lot of people believe that having emotions or “being emotional” demonstrates vulnerability and weakness. But this comes back to stigma and how we think others perceive us when we show these emotions, or maybe this is how we see those who do express their emotions. Which is why there needs to be more awareness of these and mental health issues, so it can become the norm to talk about how we are feeling and what we are experiencing. It’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of! Though there is such a thing as toxic emotions. These are when certain emotions as exasperated and take over our logical thinking. For example, anger, in itself, is a normal reaction to certain situations and as long as it’s dealt with and doesn’t have any knock-on effect or bring on any harm to ourselves or others. Another example is sadness, when I went through a few situations in the past it resulted in me feeling sad and disappointed for a while after a moth or two I realised it was more than that, it was getting darker in my world and I couldn’t fight it anymore, I realised something wasn’t right, so I went to the doctor who confirmed I was depressed. It feels taboo, but in reality, it’s more common than we realise. But sadness can become a toxic emotion. It’s not always recognised. For me, studying mental health helped me to recognise it. But it’s good to keep tabs on how we are feeling. The best way of dealing with things is to recognise your emotions, then if they are what we perceive as being negative, to offer them to God. We can do this through a number of ways: talking about them, journaling and practising lament.

Relevant Reading: Biblical Ways To Overcome Depression

PRAY about your fears and worries, MEDITATE on His word, REFLECT in His truth and ABIDE in Christ.